Questionable chicken slaughter stopped at Nebraska farm

The plan to kill 70,000 unwanted adult hens by feeding them through a grinder at a Carroll, Neb., poultry farm has been stopped, according to People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.
Dan Paden, senior research associate in PETA's Cruelty Investigations Department, told The Reader on Thursday that Nebraska State Patrol Troop B area commander Capt. Brad Rice confirmed TWJ Farms no longer planned to grind the chickens as scheduled for Nov. 12.
In a Nov. 4 letter sent to TWJ Farms and the Wayne County Sheriff's Department, PETA alleged that the slaughter, based on whistleblower testimony, violated Nebraska's Livestock Welfare Act as it was not a standard industry practice. Neither the American Veterinary Medical Association nor the United Egg Producers — a cooperative of egg farmers representing 95 percent of the industry — approves grinding as an acceptable form of slaughter for chickens more than one day old.
The Wayne County Sheriff's Department said in a Nov. 10 release that it is investigating the allegation but has yet to find any violation of Nebraska law at TWJ Farms.
"All we were asking was that industry practice and the law be followed and we believe that has happened," Paden says.